Heat of Moment
by IntraSule
Summary: Mathias made the grave error of not teaching Berwald how being an Omega in heat works. Now it's up to him and Tino to protect Berwald from the pack of lustful Alphas who keeps getting drawn to Berwald's pheromones.
1. Chapter 1

Berwald set his pen down on the little stack of paper and reached under his desk, rubbing a small area near his pelvis and giving a soft groan. The pangs in his stomach have been coming and going throughout the week, and usually they hit him before it's even noon. The internal hits only made coming to this dull workplace that much more unbearable, and at this point it's taking every ounce of his will to keep coming to this office and fill out paperwork and run in-building errands with his flesh wringing itself and causing what Berwald feared may be spikes in is body temperature.

But even willpower and self-encouragement aren't enough to get him through the day. Beads of sweat ran down the bridge of Berwald's nose down to the tip, and whatever temperature his body was in right now was hot enough to make him start panting. He slid open his desk drawer and dug around until his fingers touched a little plastic container. Berwald took out the orange tablet tube and frantically popped the cap off. He dumped two large green painkillers onto his palm and gulped them down dry, coughing a bit to work the tablets down his throat. He took a deep breath through his nostrils, picked up his pen, and wiped the sweat from his brow. _Just thirty minutes, _Berwald thought as he resumed writing. _Just thirty minutes __until the pills work. Please let the pills work._

Berwald shifted in his chair to lean over the files more. With his hand working quickly and smoothly to fill out the information on the paper and write out his signature, Berwald distracted himself enough that he easily ignored the trouble happening above his pelvis. Finishing the first paper on the stack, Berwald placed the file aside to work on the next one, but paused as knocking sounded from the door.

He placed his pen away and cleared his throat. "Yes?" He called to the door.

A coworker opened the door, much to Berwald's annoyance, and stepped inside. "Hej, Oxensteirna, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have some new paperwork for you to do when you're finished with the other one." He held up a manila folder with a stack of white paper so thick that Berwald sighed softly at the hours he know he's going to have to put into it. The man looked up and gave a sympathetic grin. "Sorry, friend, boss' orders."

"Ja, I know," Berwald sighed. He rose from his seat and walked towards the door with his hand out for the folder.

The coworker walked in to meet him. "Oh, and when you're finished with both of them, make copies and send this one to-!" The coworker stopped. A small grunt rumbled in his throat, and he had to swallow in order to be able to control it.

Berwald stopped in his pace as well. "What is it?"

The coworker blinked, his eyes darting around the room before settling back onto Berwald. "N-nothing, I just-" He tilted his nose in the air just a little. His nostrils twitched and made a nasally sniff. "-Um, do you smell something?"

"No." Berwald lowered his hand. He stifled a grimace as his pelvis started to hurt again; this was definitely too long for him to stand without his painkillers kicking in.

"Are you sure? You don't smell that at all?"

"What're you smellin'? I don't smell a thing."

"Ah, it's a weird smell. It's... pine cones and... coffee?"

Berwald pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "I had a cup of coffee an hour ago-"

"No, no, it smells like a weird kind of coffee; it's 'not real' coffee sort of thing. And the pine smell adds on to it. It smells kinda... Kinda nice."

_Please, don't do this now, _Berwald begged silently. He breathed through his nose again and closed his eyes briefly. He opened them again and said, "Okay, Adel, that's nice, but if you could just give me the files-"

"You have to tell me what spray you're using, it's nice," the coworker looked around in a daze, his cheeks taking on a soft red.

"Adel, please!" Berwald cringed and held his hand to his pelvis. It was getting worse by every second he forced himself to stand, and he can even feel his knees weaken under him. He breathed slowly and straightened up. "I can't talk now, just give me the papers an' I'll get ta 'em after the first ones."

The coworker raised an eyebrow, wondering about the sudden rushed behavior this usually-patient guy was exhibiting, until his eyes traveled down to the other hand Berwald had pressed to his lower abdomen. Both of the coworker's eyebrows rose up. "Oh. Ooooh! Heh, so that's what it is?"

"What? What is 'it'?"

The coworker glanced up at Berwald's face before concentrating on the area Berwald's hand covered. "Nothin', nothin'," he said. He came closer to Berwald, almost in a slow saunter, and held the folder out for Berwald to grab. When he grabbed the folder, Berwald could've sworn that he felt the coworker's finger brush against his palm. He was ready to ignore it and turned back towards his desk when the coworker said, "So, I guess it's your time of the year, isn't it? Yer mate must be super excited for you to come home."

"My what?" Berwald faced the coworker again and winced from the invisible punch his pelvis took. _Damn, bad turn._

"Your mate." The coworker came close to Berwald, making Berwald step back and look around in discomfort and confusion. He took another whiff of the air around Berwald, and his eyes settled into Berwald's eyes. "What, are you telling me you don't have a mate?"

"Well, no..." Berwald replied. He backed up some more. _What is with this man?_

"Wow, can't imagine anyone passing up someone as attractive as you," Berwald's coworker mused. His head still tilted, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and gazed up and down Berwald's body.

"Ah, thank you?" Berwald turned and went straight to his desk, emphatically placing the folder on the desk and opening it. He leant over the files again, half trying to give the other man a hint, and half trying to not put too much strain on his upper body. He closed his eyes and rolled them behind his lids when the coworker simply went to his desk as well and sat on the edge of it.

"You know, maybe I can atone for the mistake of the men who passed up a good thing by maybe buying you dinner sometime? Are you free tonight?"

Berwald looked up and was about to give a firm, irritated "no" to get this man out of his office so he can nurse his pain in solitude when another coworker poked her head in the door. "Adel, you're needed in the main office," the new visitor informed him.

The first coworker gave Berwald a quick regretful look before getting off the table and walking towards the door. "Thanks," he said flatly, with a hint of a scoff in his voice. He stopped and pointed at Berwald. "Hey, you think about my offer, you hear?"

"I-" Berwald said as the coworker closed the door. He watched the door moments after, and bent his head back down to concentrate on the paper in front of him. He picked up his pen, held it on the white surface, and moved his hand to the back of his head to scratch it. What was that all about?

"Ah, man, I love checking out some honeys during heat season."

Tino gave Mathias a bemused grin before raising his cup of coffee to his lips. "That was kinda...random," he said. He took a sip of his water and grinned behind the cup.

"Yea, but don'tcha like it, too?" Mathias picked up the coffee pot and refilled his cup. He placed it back on the heater and leaned back against the counter. He blew on the coffee until it cooled and sipped it straight black, watching all of the workers filling in and walking out of the employee lounge, his eyes expertly picking out the Omegas in the group, and honing in more on the Omegas without a mate yet. "So many available flowers ready to be plucked, just waiting for a big, strong Alpha to swoop them up and carry them into bed!"

"Mm, I wouldn't exactly put it like that, but yes, the Omegas are pretty attractive," Tino said. "And so many are, ah, 'eye candy', but I kind of have my eye out for someone else already, when he gets in heat, that is."

"What, really?" Mathias looked down at his friend. "Already, huh?" He shrugged and went back to Omega-watching. "Eh, not surprising since it's you and all."

Tino raised an eyebrow. "Now why does it sound like you think it's a bad thing?"

"I don't! I honestly don't, well, except that it's not really safe, y'know?" He swirled his cup around and let his eyes roam around the room. "Competition will be pretty fierce between us Alphas, and if it wasn't for the fact that we're not allowed to get gritty in the workplace, we'd probably be biting each other's head off to get to our favorite choice. And then what happens if someone else took our favorite potential mate away while we were fighting to get them? That can happen to an Alpha, that's why I try to keep my options open."

"Wow, that was a pretty grim view, Mathias," Tino replied. He sighed and shrugged. "But I supposed it's true. Yet at the same time, I also kind of feel that the apple of my eye isn't going to go too far away; he doesn't seem to be that type of sub that gets easily snatched up by an Alpha after seeing some muscle or dominant behavior."

Mathias shrugged too and shook his head. "Maybe, but you never know. Omegas can and usually do switch up partners if the ones that want them aren't that interesting to them. I still say keep your options open, Tino."

"And it's no wonder you're so desperate to get any submissive mate that'll settle for ya."

"Huh?" Mathias snapped his head at the direction where the deep voice came, and smiled as Berwald walked towards them. "Berwald, hey!" He exclaimed with his arms wide open. He took Berwald into a hug as Berwald tried to avoid it and gave him a squeeze. "Okay, one: shaddup, I'm not desperate, two: Jesus, bud, you're sweating like a roasting pig, and three: how are the cramps, man? Letting up yet?"

Berwald shook his head and removed Mathias's arms from his shoulders. He wiped a handkerchief on his nose and stuffed it in his pocket. "No, not yet. I took some pills over an hour ago to ease the pain, but nothin' changed like it usually does. In fact, it kinda got worse when I left my office to drop off the papers. It hurts right now." He gently pat his pelvis and rubbed little circles on it. "My body does not do well around others."

"Well, then you should sit down and rest your body!" Tino moved to Berwald and touched the hand Berwald had over his pelvis. "I don't think it is wise to push your body when you're not feeling top-notch."

"Ah..." Berwald's hand stilled under Tino's palm, his own palm moistening and soaking the shirt in that one area that will definitely be noticeable with a dark blue damp spot. Yet the spot was not what Berwald was paying attention to. His breathing became shallow and difficult to do; his mouth dried, all of his saliva seeming to collect in his throat and form a choking lump that wouldn't allow any words to come out. He wanted to turn his hand around so that their palms can touch and he could lock his fingers with Tino's fingers and hold the other's gentle care as if it was a tangible piece of gold, but he couldn't even move his eyes up to meet Tino's, let alone move his hand to do anything else. All because of this simple gesture that only lasted for a moment as Tino removed his hand.

Tino smiled up at Berwald, but the grin on his face fell when he studied the Swede's face. "Wow, you must be feeling terrible! Your face is getting so red, are you okay?!"

"I- I'm fine..." Berwald forced out of his throat. When his voice came out a little too dry- and it must have, the way Mathias was standing away and pretending to stifle his snickering as if Berwald's reaction to Tino's presence was a joke- Berwald snatched up the coffee pot and a foam cup and poured himself some of the beverage before chugging half of it dark. He grimaced and silently wondered just how Mathias drinks the stuff like that.

"Uhm, Berwald?"

"I'm fine," Berwald repeated. He refilled his cup and sweetened it with coffee and creamer this time. "And I can't rest. I have to finish the census forms before I get more piled on, and it's going to get worse with this dingus trying to mate with everyone," he said with a jab of his thumb towards Mathias.

"Hey, someone has'ta to pass down our beautiful strong bloodline, and I don't think it's gonna be the prissy Alpha who didn't even get his first erection or fight yet!" Mathias retorted with a puff of his chest.

_Alpha? He thinks Berwald's an Alpha? _Tino raised an eyebrow and looked between the two men. He hesitated, debating whether or not it's in his place to say anything, when he spoke up, "Mathias, I don't think-"

And then his nose caught it. He stopped as his nostrils filled with a delicious scent that tingled his spine and went all the way down to his loins. He latched on to the scent, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

"Uh, Tino?" Mathias shared a questioning glance with Berwald and turned his eyes back to the Finn. "Tino, man, you're creeping us out, what the hell are you doing?"

Tino silently stepped closer to Berwald and pressed his nose into the other's shirt. He ignored the awkward air he was creating as he focused on the smell of coffee and pine that gripped him tighter and tighter.

"Tino, dude, stop doing that!" Mathias took Tino's shoulder and tugged him away from Berwald.

Tino sighed and opened his eyes, but they were half-lidded, his gaze becoming dark and smoldering. "Berwald..."

"Hm?" Berwald leaned back; that was not the type of physical contact he was hoping for from Tino.

"Berwald, I think... I think you're ready..."

"For what?"

"Tino, what the fuck is wrong with you-?" Mathias stopped, his nose twitching and nostrils widening. What he picked up was, as pleasant as it may smell, was oddly repulsive to him, like a hint of repugnance that warded him away from something that he shouldn't touch. And yet he inhaled deeply, and followed the scent to-

"Oh, hell naw!" He flung his coffee to the floor and took Berwald's upper arms, gripping so tightly that Berwald was sure that he was going to get bruises later on. "Berwald, goddammit, are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What?!" Berwald jerked his arms out of Mathias's hold, and gasped as the coffee spilled on his wrist. He bit his lip momentarily and closed his eyes, reopening them when the coffee cooled on his skin. "Ugh..."

Tino reached out towards him. "Berwald! Oh, no, are you okay?" he asked as he took the coffee-covered limb in his hands.

"Hey, back the hell away, Tino!" Mathias shouted. He gave Tino another shove, this one more forceful than the last time. "Stop getting fresh with my little brother!"

Tino jabbed a finger in Mathias's face. "Don't you shove me, Mathias! And I was only trying to see if he's okay after you made him spill coffee on himself! If you're going to control your brother like this, at least make sure he's not hurt!"

"He's _my _brother, I can very well do what I please with him! Including being sure gross Alphas don't try to fuck my little brother-!"

"STOP YELLING!" The command came out more like a guttural bellow, frightening even the bigger-looking Alphas in the room into jumping out of their skin. Berwald's nose was red and flared, his narrowed, hardened eyes fixed on the two men arguing in front of him. "Stop it! Both of you! Yelling like a couple'a hyenas ready to rip each other's throats out an' causing a scene! Everyone's staring!"

Mathias and Tino looked over towards the rest of the room, and groaned frustratedly at what they found. It wasn't everyone looking at the three; they were so busy with their own bickering that they completely forgot about the other Alphas in the room, but now that they remembered that they weren't alone, their spines tensed up with territorial fury as the other Alphas focused on Berwald and sent out their vibes hoping to get his attention.

"Ugh, come on, Berwald!" Mathias grunted. He grabbed Berwald's wrist and started to pull him away.

"Mathias, please stop grabbing my arm!"

"Yeah, let his arm go!" Tino ripped Mathias's hand away from Berwald.

"Didn't I tell you to fuck off?!"

Berwald moved quickly to set his cup down and hold the two men back. "No. Fighting." He gave them both a scolding look until they calmed down and looked down at their feet, both feeling shame that they were being put in their place by an Omega, an Omega in heat, at that. He stepped back, retrieved his cup of coffee, and watched them to be sure that they weren't going to attack each other before he relaxed himself. "...I don't know why you two are fighting over me, but I had enough. And I did not expect this much aggression from you, Tino.

"I only came for some coffee, and now that I have it, I'm gonna go back to my office and sit before this cramp gets worse... And make me sick." He turned on his heels and stormed out of the room with eyes following him, leaving the two Alphas to dwell on their shame like cubs shamed by their mother bear.

When the tension eased, Tino looked up at Mathias and asked, "So... he doesn't know that he's an Omega?"

Mathias shook his head. "Nope. He doesn't know. We all didn't know, honestly. We thought he was an Alpha with how intimidating he looked, or at least a beta."

"Wait a minute! No one in your family knew at all that Berwald is an Omega? How did you not know?"

"I told you, we thought he was because he was pretty intimidating-looking an' stuff!" Mathias gazed up at the ceiling and put a finger to his chin. "Although looking back, this would explain some of the weird ways he acted when I had beat him up or asked- well, _demanded_- for his stuff. Keh heh, the poor ass just couldn't say- _aw, damn!_" He tossed his head back and covered his face with his hands. His palms muffled the line of obscenities he was screaming. "Oh, shit, this is not good."

"What? What's wrong?"

Mathias stared straight into Tino's eyes as if Tino was clueless. "Berwald can't say no!"

"What?"

"Berwald can't say no, Tino! He's going to get screwed by _everyone!_"

Tino shrunk back with his mouth hanging open in disgust. "Wow, what a really kind thing to say about your own flesh and blood. I can see why you're Brother of the Year."

"No, no, no, dammit, Tino, that's not what I meant and you know it!" Mathias shook his head rapidly and stopped to rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What I meant was that Berwald _cannot say no. _Oh, my god, the guy's been such a damn doormat when we were little, he probably won't be able to resist if I'm not there to stop the creep trying to get in his pants, and- oh my god, how's he gonna know how to even take it, he's not prepared at all!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Tino exploded. "HE DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT SEX, EITHER?!"

"Well, yeah, but the whole building doesn't need to know that," Mathias smiled awkwardly around the staring faces, waving his hand to make Tino lower his voice.

Tino huffed and said, "Okay, I'm sorry, but still, Mathias, did anyone teach him anything _at all?!_"

"Um, no..." Tino opened his mouth and Mathias continued quickly, "But it was just that, well, we kinda had no one to teach us. Our ol' folks kept traveling and couldn't make time for us with their work, and every time I tried to teach Berwald myself what I picked up on the streets-"

"'Picked up on the streets' oh my god, Mathias-"

"-He'd get anxious and sick so I couldn't teach him without having him vomit all over himself or run out of the room. When he peaked physically- like getting tall and muscular with a deeper voice and shit- I figured it was too late to teach him anything and that maybe he can take care of himself. But he never showed any interested in obtaining an Omega when we grew up." He slumped and rubbed behind his neck. "And now I know why."

"And the heat he had didn't clue you in at all?"

"He didn't have any heat." Mathias held up a finger as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Ah, no, wait, he had these cramps ever since he was younger."

Tino shook his head. "And you didn't think anything of it?"

"Nope. Just gave him some pills and went out on a mate hunt. Hm... I did read back then that some of the painkillers offset pheromones in Omegas, but, yeah, didn't think twice of it because I didn't know that he..." He trailed off and shrunk sheepishly under Tino's stare.

Tino took a look at his watch and started towards the door, wagging his finger to make Mathias follow him. "So let me get this straight: neither one of you received proper education on this type of thing, not even a talk with your parents," he said as they began walking down the hall.

Mathias stuffed his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "No."

"And now we have my- an Omega running around oozing pheromones without even knowing what he's doing and since he doesn't know about sex or attraction, he can be swooped up and taken by anyone without knowing what's going on?"

"Looks like it."

Tino stopped. It was his turn to groan and rub his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Oh, Mathias..." He crossed his arms and continued walking, mentally working out whether he felt pity for them both for not learning about mating between Alphas and Omegas as children or if he was frustrated at how Mathias probably messed Berwald for the long run."

"Uh, hey, Tino, you okay? You been quiet for a while..."

"We have to protect him."

"Huh?"

Tino turned sharply towards the taller man, glaring straight up at him. "We are going to have to protect him," he repeated.

"I know that, Tino, I was already planning on-"

"No, I mean seriously protect him, Mathias! You had him believe that he was an Alpha and that he can protect himself from all of the other Alphas, and we all know that that isn't the case when he can't even bring himself to kill a spider viciously. What can he do when he encounters all of these Alphas and experimenting Betas trying to get into bed with him and he doesn't know what's going on?"

"Yeah, you definitely have a point."

"Of course I do!"

"-Please, I really have'ta get back to work-"

Tino and Mathias perked their ears. "Was that Berwald?" Mathias asked.

Tino lifted his nose and sniffed the air. Although the scent was weak from distance, it was definitely pine and coffee that he smelled from earlier. "That's Berwald's scent. But where is he?"

"Adel, it's nice of ya to offer, but I am not free for dinner."

"Then how 'bout lunch? I can take you to this nice bistro in town, and it's not far. We can get a bite to eat, come back to work, or maybe..."

"Adel, no. Do not touch me there."

Tino stood on his toes and craned his neck. Moving his head this way and that to look through the busy movement of workers, Tino spotted the tall Swede yards away, and he was obviously trapped by the other man, the way he had to lean back on the table while that guy named Adel leaned his hands on the edge on either side of Berwald, leaving Berwald with no space to wiggle out of. Even though Berwald was taller, he seemed so small enclosed like that.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Mathias pushed past Tino and any workers that walked in his path when he spotted his younger brother, too. "Hey, get the fuck away from my brother!"

Their coworker, Adel, took one annoyed look at Mathias when he sensed the approaching man's rage and rolled his eyes. He went back to smiling up at Berwald and trying to earn his interest.

"Don't fucking ignore me, you bastard!" Mathias reached the two and grabbed Adel by his tie. He yanked it so that the other man was pulled away from Berwald's space. "Stop creeping on my little brother, especially when he told you he doesn't want to fuck you!"

"Mathias!" Berwald gasped.

"What, do you want to fuck this guy, then?" Mathias shook Adel for emphasis.

"No, I just-"

"Then this little turd better leave you the hell alone before I beat him senseless!"

"Oooor we can have him written up for sexual harassment and coercion," Tino gripped the hand Mathias used to yank Adel's tie and tugged at it until he released the man. "That way, no one gets fired for trying to protect someone," he continued, staring pointedly at Mathias. He pointed at Adel. "And you, Adel, should stop doing this. Do you honestly think you don't look desperate when you keep coming on to someone after they clearly and repeatedly refused?"

Adel puffed up, trying to glare Tino and Mathias down and show off his domineering capabilities to Berwald. But when neither of them backed down, he rolled his eyes again and walked off. "Whatever, I'll talk to you later, Berwald, when you don't have these two stalking you."

"Like hell you will!" Mathias shouted after him. He sneered and sniffed. "Better walk off, ya piece of shit," he grumbled.

Tino shook his head. Noticing Berwald backing away, he asked him, "Berwald, are you okay?"

"Ja, I'm fine, Tino," Berwald nodded. His lips pulled up into a small, grateful smile. "Thanks. Both of you, I guess." He looked at the papers in his hand and backed away some more. "Better go back to my office, I have a... lot of work..." he said.

"Oh, Berwald, wait!" Tino tried to grab him, but Berwald was way out of reach before he could. He let his arm fall down. "Oh, this is not good."

"You think?"

Tino glanced toward Mathias and sighed. "You know what this means, right? We're going to have to double our watch over him and keep him safe from all of these Alphas."

"Yeah, I know."

Tino nodded silently, keeping his eyes on Berwald as he walked away, thinking about the full day- probably the full month- they were going to have. He started walking, calling over his shoulder, "Let's get to it, then."

"Wait, now?" Mathias hurried after Tino. "Don't we have work to do, man?"

"I'm pretty sure this is more important than work, Mathias." He shot death glares at the Alphas he caught watching Berwald with hungry eyes as they passed them by; some of them threw their palms up with an awkward grin on their faces or turned away, others hardened their eyes and bared their teeth with a competitive aura as if they all had chosen Berwald. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists at his side. This was definitely more important than work.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you see him?"

"No."

"Check harder."

"Tino, I don't think he's- wait! Wait, I see him! Yeah, he's over there!"

"Good. How's he holding up?"

"Uhm... It looks like he's just listening to some coworker talk or something." Mathias adjusted the zoom feature of his binoculars. "Don't think he's in immediate danger."

"Are you sure, Mathias? Check his body language, and check really closely! He may be _showing_ signs of discomfort, instead."

Mathias sighed and backed away from the potted fake plant both he and Tino were hiding behind. He let the tiny binoculars hang on his neck as he said, "Tino, look, I can't believe I'm the one who has to say this since this job sucks, but I really need to go back to doing my work."

"And what? Leave Berwald alone and defenseless against these... _predators_?" Tino glowered around pointedly and Alphas that were nearby enough to hear him use the nasty term returned the hate-filled (and slightly confused) stares. He sneered at them and returned his attention to Mathias with his arms crossed and frown wide enough to frighten anyone. "Are you really going to abandon him in his greatest time of need even though it is your fault that he's in this predicament to begin with?"

Mathias scoffed. "What? Whaddya mean _my_ fault?"

"If you had taught him the proper sex education, regardless whether he's an Omega or an Alpha, I wouldn't have to worry about some office creep trying to nab my mate!"

"_Your mate?_"

Tino's throat made a choking sound as he realized what he said out loud. His hand going to scratch the back of his hand, he said, "Uhm, did I say my mate? I mean, ah-" and a split second later, his arms flew down to his sides with his hands curled into fists. "Listen here, you Dane! I am the best darn mate for Berwald, and probably a much better caretaker for him than you or anyone else in this building can ever be! You're better off letting me make my move and helping me to keep these Alphas away, especially since none of them know Berwald like you or I do!"

"Ew, so this isn't about protecting Berwald at all, you just want his ass all for yourself!" Mathias shook his head and groaned. "I shoulda known that this was the reason you wanted to watch over Berwald; Alpha's an Alpha no matter who it is."

"Of course it's about protecting Berwald, that's my top priority right now! Even if Berwald might not choose me as his Alpha, I'd still like for him to not be unsafely lured in by a random pervert that he doesn't know. Something that should be your job if you weren't so damn dense about your own little brother's nature!"

"Tino, I literally didn't know anything about this Alpha-Omega stuff myself until I was maybe 15? What am I supposed to do about stuff that I have no knowledge of?"

"You can crack open a book on it and read, maybe."

Mathias looked over his shoulder and turned around swiftly at the newcomer's voice. "Wha- oh, Lukas. Hey, what are you doin' here?"

Lukas raised the cup of water up to his lips and sipped. "I can honestly ask you two the same thing, but I guess the conversation you guys are having is really important if you are gonna yell behind this fake plant. What's going on, anyway? You two usually don't argue like this."

"It's Berwald," Tino sighed tiredly. "Mathias never taught him how to ward off unwanted attention from other Alphas, so now we have to follow him around and be sure that no one takes advantage of him."

"Ah, so he's in heat again?"

"Wait, you knew too?" Mathias gasped.

"Uhm, yes?" Lukas paused to take a drink, wondering to himself why Mathias seemed so surprised. He then giggled behind his cup and had to lower it so he didn't choke on his drink. "You didn't know that he was an Omega, did you?"

Mathias threw his hands up in the air. "No! No, I didn't! I'm telling you, I just didn't know about this stuff."

"How did you not know-?"

"No one taught him," Tino spoke up before Mathias blew a gasket. He cut him a warning scowl and continued as Mathias calmed himself, "except for what he learned on the streets."

Lukas' eyebrows rose in amusement. "Wow, what a terrible way to learn about this stuff. 'S no wonder you're always trying to get the first Omega that makes eye contact with ya. And then there's Berwald." He shook his head and brought the cup up to his mouth. "And then there's Berwald..."

"Look, Lukas, are you going to help us or just stand there and passive aggressively judge my big brotherly skills?"

"I'm in the mood for the latter, but, sure, I'll help ya." Lukas shrugged. "Might be a good learnin' experience for Emil on mating and heat cycles for when he gets out of his younger stage, right, little brother?"

Tino and Mathias raised their eyebrows at each other as Lukas stood there with a small, blissful smile on his lips. "Uhm, Lukas," Tino said, raising his finger to point out the empty space where he assumed Emil should've been.

"I know," Lukas sighed. "Excuse me while I go look for my baby brother first, then I'll be right back to help you and Mathias." He turned away, but he stopped to sniff the air. He quickly glanced over his shoulder at some place behind Tino and Mathias and added before he left, "Oh, and nice job on keeping an eye out on Berwald; he's getting groped down the hall right now as we speak."

"What?!" Tino and Mathias snapped their heads around to look for Berwald. Their eyes caught him down the floor's hall as Lukas said, pushed up against the wall with another person, Elizabeta with her red lipstick lips curled up seductively, "subtly" pushing her knee in between his legs and running her nose up and down his neck as other Alphas walked passed with envy in their eyes. Mathias and Tino snarled in their throats and all but ran to the two people in the distance. When they reached them, it took all Tino had to not yank the woman by her collar and toss her away from Berwald, but with so many people around and the risk of getting suspended already high, he instead chose to do the lesser and pushed her away.

Elizabeta regained her balance and bared her teeth. "Whoa! Hey, what the hell?!"

"He's GAY!" Tino roared in her face. "He's gay and you know it, Liz, so leave, godammit!"

Elizabeta scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said in irritated resignation. She mouthed "I'll call you" with her pinky and thumb next to her face and left the group of men alone.

The atmosphere settled down with her absence, and Mathias gave out a low whistle. "Man, that was a close call."

"_Too __c_lose of a call with that damn shameless pervert." He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Now do you see why we have to do this?"

"Yeah."

Berwald looked from one man to the other. He had a folder in his hands that held up to his chest as if it was a shield. "Do what?" he asked, regarding them with a quirked eyebrow. "An' what was that just now?"

Mathias opened his mouth to speak, but Tino stepped in front of him and spoke up. "Nothing, nothing! We just noticed that she was making you uncomfortable and came to put an end to it, that's all."

"Oh, uhm, ya didn't have'ta do that, but thanks."

Tino waved the thanks away and slid his hand in Mathias' elbow. "No problem, Berwald, no problem! See you later!" He towed Mathias behind him as he got away, with the taller man trying to prevent himself from falling over from the sudden act.

Berwald stood in his spot and watched his brother and crush until they disappeared behind the corner. "Hm... strange people," he thought aloud, and he too went on his way to get back to his work.

With his back towards them, Berwald didn't see Tino and Mathias poke their heads around the corner to watch him and to keep an eye on any Alphas showing even the slightest in him.

"So... why didn't we tell him?" Mathias asked.

"Because we don't want to scare him." Tino moved from the corner and started after Berwald with Mathias following behind again. "If he learns that he's in heat and that we're following him around to prevent Alphas from claiming him, he'll probably get creep out and angry at us for trying to claim him ourselves.

"And there's the fact that if he does figure out what's going on, it'll just frighten him and make the heat worse. He'll attract the entire building of Alphas just wanting to protect him from us, and that's only going to make our job harder." Tino sighed and shook his head at the thought. "So we'll have to keep it to ourselves until we can find the right way to tell him."

As Tino spoke, Mathias raised his eyebrows with how impressed he was. "Wow, you figured this whole thing out pretty quickly, man; that's some fast thinkin'." When Tino flashed him a proud grin, he stated, "Still not letting you have him, though."

Tino stopped in his tracks and asked indignantly, "And why not?"

Mathias paused as well and simply shrugged with his hands in his pockets. "Dunno, man, just don't really think anyone's the right fit for my little brother. Nothing personal, Tino." He added the last part with a twitch of the corner of his lips, and had to turn away before Tino noticed it.

"Wha-, but you can't- Berwald isn't your-!" Tino kept grumbling and searching for a rebuttal, but when no strong ones came and Mathias kept moving on, he hurried to catch up with him and grabbed him by the shirt tail. "You didn't care who Berwald got with when you still thought he was an Alpha like you!"

Mathias reached back and pulled his shirt out of Tino's grasp. "Yeah, because back then, that's when I thought he had a bigger choice in the matter," he replied. "But now that he's in heat, he's probably gonna be taken up by a bunch'a Alphas trying to mate with him. I mean, look at him, he's a freaking super model around here, and that scent..." Mathias' nose scrunched up in repulsion at the bittersweet tingling his airways. Even though that repulsive factor was strong to him, there was no denying that he can detect an appealing scent of coffee and pine forest, a strange combination but a bold and delightful one.

"So you're just going to uphold this double standard then?" Tino said with his arms crossed.

"As long as it protects Berwald, yeah."

"You do know that that sort of discrimination is what the Omegas are complaining about, right? And that Berwald hates most?"

"I'll deal with that later." Mathias gestured with his hand. "So are ya gonna do this or not? Since it was your idea an' all." He started walking without hearing Tino's answer.

Tino stood there and pouted. His nose picked up on Berwald's lingering scent, and knowing that the Alphas were smelling the same thing, he groaned and stomped after Mathias.

Back in his office, Berwald worked nonstop all over his desk, entering data in his computer, transferring calls to his superiors, and passing along documents to workers that stepped into the room to pick them up. The workload was tiresome, stretching him thin to the point that he felt like he was going to yank his hair right out of his roots the way everything needed his instant attention. But it kept him busy, and busying himself was what he needed to keep his mind off the cramps that were not going away.

Balancing the phone receiver on his shoulder, Berwald twisted off the cap of his medication bottle and took two more tablets out to pop into his mouth. He quickly shoved the bottle into his drawer and slammed it closed when his nose caught the approaching scent of another worker. As he typed with one hand, he held out a manila envelope with the other, saying to the person on the other line of the phone, "The survey was tak'n three months ago, and according to the results, the rates of compatible partners plannin' on having children in this economy went down by three hundred percent."

"Three hundred percent? Geez, are you sure?" The other person asked. "That's too high of a number."

"Hm? Oh, wait, my apologies, I was reading what was on my computer." Berwald squeezed his eyes and exhaled in frustration as the new worker finally came in and took the envelope out of his hand. "It's not three hundred percent, it's thirteen percent." He scrolled through his Excel to find the numbers taken from the mentioned survey. "So it looks like if your company up the shipment of contraception by ten percent, it should be enough for profits. I'll email the information so you can get started on the orders."

"Alright then, thank you."

"Not a problem." Berwald placed the receiver back in place and flicked the red switch on the phone to cancel out incoming calls. Taking his glasses off his nose, Berwald placed his elbows on the wooden desk and ran his hands up his face until his fingers combed through his short hair. He inhaled through his nose and blew the air out of his mouth. "Ugh, I can't keep doing this."

"It's one of those weeks, hm?"

Berwald moved his arm to see whom has spoken. All he saw was a blurry figure before he placed his glasses back on his face. "Roderich?"

Roderich tucked the envelope behind a clipboard he was carrying and pat Berwald's shoulder. "I guess the cramps are really kicking your tush, hm?"

Berwald felt like cringing away from the uninvited touch, yet at the same time there was something wonderful and nurturing about the way Roderich squeezed his shoulder in the gentlest touch Berwald ever felt, and with his senses heightened during the Omegas' heat season, his body felt attuned to the comforting gesture. Relaxing under the touch, Berwald slouched in his chair and let his head hang back over the chair's back. "Ugh, Roderich, they're terrible. I can't get my work done and nursin' it isn't doing anything."

"Are you taking any medication for them?"

"'Course, but they still don't work." Berwald held in a small moan of content when Roderich's hand massaged deeper into his muscle. He started to think of how soothing the massage would be if he could get Roderich to rub his cramps, but he soon forced his thoughts away from that. Even though he felt no attraction to Roderich- which he admit is odd as an Alpha with an Omega in heat being attentive to him- such a thought was maybe too intimate to suggest. Clearing his throat, Berwald pat Roderich's hand and sheepishly moved it away. "Um, that's enough, Roderich, thanks."

Roderich did stop giving the massage, but moved the back of his hand up to Berwald's forehead. "Is there anything you need at all? Your face is getting red, is your heat giving you a fever?"

Berwald reached up and removed the hand again. "No, Roderich, I'm fine- wait, heat?"

Roderich nodded slowly. "Yes, the heat that's been making you sick?"

"No, I'm not in heat, Roderich."

"Um, I think I can tell when another Omega is in heat, Berwald."

"But I'm not an Omega..." Berwald shook his head. "What makes you think I'm an Omega like you?"

"Are you serious?" Roderich asked, his voice subtly taking on the snooty tone that Berwald knows so much. When Berwald didn't reply immediately, Roderich's lips quivered into a laughing smile. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth, but the small laugh, so unintentionally condescending- at least Berwald hoped that it was unintentional- yet motherly gentle, came out anyway. It was soothing yet insulting. He cleared his throat. "Well, for starters, it seems like you have a really strong scent coming from your body." He sniffed lightly, and the act made Berwald's spine shudder. "Smells like a wonderful coffee break in a lodge during winter."

Berwald brought the front of his shirt up to his nose and sniffed it. After inhaling deeply and only catching the scent of coffee he had earlier and clothes detergent, he shook his head again, his lips frowning incredulously.

"You aren't going to detect your own scent, silly! That's the most basic knowledge of heat cycles-!" He gasped, his eyes lighting up in realization behind his glasses. He reached out to touch Berwald's shoulder, patting it sympathetically this time as he stated, "You never learned about any of this stuff, have you?"

Berwald started to reply, but went silent as he thought more about the question and the memories that came with it; although no one was there to teach him anything about heat cycles and mating, he did learn some basics of it on his own time, to prepare to be the Alpha or Beta his older brother kept claiming him to be. But the lessons he provided himself came from old textbooks so outdated that he learned more about past civil wars and the few rights Omegas won than what it means to be an Alpha, so would that really count? As Berwald pondered this, Roderich dug into his blazer fold and took out a stack of pamphlets. He placed them on the desk in front of Berwald.

"What are those?"

"Some pamphlets for you to read. You poor soul, you are going to need to learn so much on this!" He huffed and placed his hand on his hip. "That damn Dane, what big brother doesn't teach his younger siblings these things?"

His words went unheard as Berwald opened up the top pamphlet to the first page, his eyes quickly taking in the information printed on the paper. The more he read, the stronger the pains in his stomach became, but not from what he now knew was heat.

"Berwald, I think you're getting worse! You're getting paler now!"

"So what is our situation, now?"

Mathias read down the handwritten list of work that Berwald had that day. "Filling out census forms, making copies, delivering the original forms to the notary office to be viewed and stamped, and then heading down to the first floor to sort the work out into their designated drawers," he read aloud to Tino. He shrugged and stuffed the paper in his pocket. "Basically what he does every workday."

"So, he'll be all over the place, then," Tino muttered sullenly to himself. He eyed the passing Alphas competitively, making them walk a little further away from the alluring scent of Omega that he knew they were enjoying.

"And in rooms where there are a shit ton of Alphas and Betas," Mathias added. He scrunched his nose again and held a hand over it to block out the jealous scent Tino gave off. "Looks like we're gonna have a lotta running around to do to keep him safe from predators. Damn, there goes my pay for the day."

Tino ignored Mathias' nose-covering gesture. "Try a week, Mathias." He checked his watch. He and Mathias have stood far away from Berwald's office enough so that when he finally comes out to go make copies, they can see him leave and follow after him without being seen. "How long do you think he's going to be in there?"

Mathias did a one-shoulder shrug and pursed his lips together as he thought. "He's doing some merchandise inventory and statistics right now, so maybe it's going to take him another half hour to be in there until- hey, there he is! Ah, no, wait, that's just Roderich. Hey, man!"

"Mathias, darn it, don't draw attention to us!" Tino hissed. He yanked down Mathias' waving arm.

"What, it's not like he's gonna tattle to Berwald about... uh, is he angry at me?" He raised an eyebrow and pointed at Roderich, whom was standing a little outside Berwald's doorway and narrowing his violet eyes at Mathias' direction. A few moments passed and the man rolled his eyes, visibly huffed, and strutted away with his head shaking from side to side. "Whoa, what's his damage? Did I do somethin' wrong?"

"Maybe," Tino said passively; he was still focused on sending waves of vicious scents and glares and the occasional snarl to get Alphas to back off. "Forget him for now, Mathias, we still need to focus on the mission." He rubbed his forehead where a sore was developing from all of the glaring. "Ugh, this is going to be hard..."

"Here comes our help, though!" Mathias said as he stared off at the side, where Lukas towed his pissed-looking baby brother by the wrist behind him. "Hey, what took you guys so long?" He asked when they came closer.

"Sorry, I had to search all over the floor for this little guy. Finally found the little sneak in a closet sexting his boyfriend! On career shadowing day of all days!" He turned to Emil, his face twisted in false weeping. "Why, Emil? Why? Was my job not fun enough for you? Couldn't your teenage hormones wait?"

"No," Emil replied plainly. He shoved Lukas' face back and held out his hand. "And give me my phone back!"

Lukas shook his head and turned back towards Mathias and Tino. He crossed his arms and said, "So, what's going on now? Anyone else hit on Berwald while I was away?"

"None so far besides Elizabeta. Tino made sure of that." He slapped a hand on Tino's shoulder. "Didn't you, little man?"

Tino shrugged the hand off. "Please don't call me little man."

"Wait, what's going on here, anyway?" Emil looked from his brother to Mathias to Tino, eyebrows pinched together in confusion as he tried to connect these tidbits of information. "What's this about Liz hitting on Berwald? And why is that strange? All Alphas try to attract available Omegas this time of month."

"It's strange only to Mathias; guy didn't know that Ber's an Omega."

"For real?!" Emil gaped at Mathias. "You didn't know your own little brother was an Omega, why-?"

"Oh, my GOD, can we _not_ do this now?" Mathias shouted up at the ceiling. He threw his hands up in the air and slammed them back down at his sides again.

Tino grabbed Mathias' forearm. "Mathias, please!" He put his other hand up in Emil's direction. "Emil..." The group became silent and Tino clapped his hands together. "Good. Good. Anyway, Emil, right now we're waiting for Berwald to leave his office so that wherever he goes, we can keep an eye on him and protect him from any unwanted advances."

Now Emil gaped at Tino. "Uh, wow, Tino, don't you think you're being a little too...?"

"Jealous?" Lukas finished for him.

"Yeah, that."

"_No. _I simply do not want Berwald to be targeted by so many Alphas when he doesn't even know that he's an Omega."

"Berwald doesn't even know his own nature?" Emil narrowed his eyes. "What the hell?"

"And we don't want to tell him, either," Tino said.

"Why not? Don't you guys think he has a right to know his true nature instead of thinking that he's...whatever he thinks he is?"

"We don't want to scare him and make his heat worse if he learns that Alphas and Betas are going to come after him; he might not even be comfortable with the fact that he can get pregnant."

"What do you mean? He's all about children!"

"Just because he likes children doesn't mean he would want to bear some. Look, just be sure that he doesn't find out until we can tell him privately, okay?"

"Ergh, you guys are just making it harder for yourselves," Emil grumbled. "Well, there he is, so what now?"

Tino, Mathias, and Lukas turned their attention towards the office door. Berwald was out of his office with a folder of papers in his arm, slouching forward with his other arm wrapped around his pelvis. But unlike before, he was shaking, his face ashen and sweaty as he looked out into space. His steps were slow as he walked away from his office, but they way he dragged his feet seemed like more than just being drained from an illness, it was like watching a man give up on eve the most basic tasks.

"Oh, Berwald; his heat must be awful," Tino wondered aloud. He looked back at the others, and started moving after him. The others followed him.

Another quarter-hour into the "mission" and already the self-appointed protection group already had to shove off Alphas standing to closer to Berwald, chase away Alphas getting too friendly with Berwald for their (Tino's) comfort, and ward off Betas with subtle warnings.

A quarter-hour turned into a full hour, and as the group squeezed behind a desk out of Berwald's view, Emil whispered to the others, "So, this is our plan? Just stalk him until the day's over and scare off other Alphas like some possessive creeps?"

"Pretty much," Mathias replied a little shamelessly.

Emil grumbled some swears under his breath and rolled his eyes. "Jesus fuck, you guys, that's not going to work!"

"Probably not, but it sure beats paperwork," Lukas muttered.

"You, be quiet," Emil pointed to Lukas. He waved his finger at the other two. "You two, listen. This seriously isn't going to work. We look like a bunch of creeps slacking off at work, and I don't know why, but I'm guessing by some miracle no one went to report you guys to the superiors, especially with that jealous act you're pulling, Tino."

"I'm not-!"

"And he hasn't caught us yet, but he may sometime soon. So we need a better plan then stalking Berwald like a cult and getting attention drawn to us."

Mathias peeked over the desk to be sure Berwald was still there. "What's your plan, little guy?"

"Whatever the plan is, can you fools discuss it _away _from my desk?"

The men looked up and apologized as they started moving away from a disgruntled Arthur standing behind them. They moved as quickly and quietly as they could to another location still close to Berwald and crouched around Emil to hear his plan.

"Okay, guys, so here's my idea..."


End file.
